I think that's a little unfair. Don't forget our dear beloved chancellor did lower the rate on bingo so we can all distract outselves from our misery with a nice evening listening to pissed housewives. Credit where credit's due, its an inspired way to distract the electorate from Labour's almighty fiscal cock-up.

You mean the "bonus" tax that isn't and won't ever be collected? As ever with Gordoom's budgets, you have to read the small print. The bonus tax only applies to "discretionary" bonuses not "contractual" bonuses.

But it has served to give the bankers a kicking in the headlines which is good enough for Gordoom and his public school educated chums.

There's officially to be a 1% pay rise limit for public sector workers (cf. the wealth-creating sector, where most have got no rise, many have a cut, and more than a few have no job at all any more), but this limit explicitly does not apply to MP's.

It's almost impossible to read (or type) that without gagging. They still don't get it.

The Irish Prime Minister is not so deluded to think he can win an election............ But the best bit is that he reduced excise duty on alcohol by 20% so that at least we can all afford to get pissed and forget about it !